kiṁ ca gīta-śāstra-vinodena kārttikaṁ yo nayen naraḥ na tasya punar āvṛttir mayā dṛṣṭā kali-priya kim- ca-furthermore; gīta-śāstra-vinodena-by happily reading Bhagavad-gītā; kārttikam-in Kārttika; yaḥ-who; nayen-pass; naraḥ-a person; na-not; tasya-of him; punaḥ-again; āvṛttiḥ-return; mayā-by me; dṛṣṭā-seen; kali-priya-O Narada. “O Nārada, I have personally seen that a person who happily reads Bhagavad-gīta during the month of Kārttika does…

My friend Pandu Prabhu is hurting. I can empathise with him because I’ve had similar hurts before. Here is his original post with others’ comments and my response below. Please note that my views don’t necessarily represent anyone else or anything other than my current views on things. But what can I do? My experience…

From an article by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura entitled, “The Temple of Jagannath at Puri (India)”, published September 15, 1871 We do not mean to say that Reason is a foolish principle. On the contrary we do not find better admirers of Reason than our humble selves. We hold that man’s superiority amongst all created beings…

sādhu-sevā gavāṁ grāsaḥ kathā viṣṇos tathārcanam jāgare paścime yāme durlabhaḥ kārttike kalau sādhu-to the devotees; sevā-service; gavām-of the cows; grāsaḥ-feeding; kathā-talking; viṣṇoḥ-of Lord Viṣṇu; tathā-so; arcanam-worship; jāgare-vigil; paścime-to the last; yāme-yama; durlabhaḥ-rare; kārttike-in Kārttika; kalau-in Kali-yuga. “During the month of Kārttika serving the devotees, feeding the cows, talking about and worshiping Lord Viṣṇu, and keeping…

A pure devotee is kept in the hand of Krishna just like a precious jewel. When you hold something precious in your hand, you are very careful, and similarly, Krishna holds the devotee and takes care of him. – from “Teachings of Lord Kapila” (376KB )

Srila Prabhupada was in the garden with the parents of a young devotee. Being responsible for landscaping the garden for Prabhupada they had the good fortune to please His Divine Grace. Kirtanananda Maharaja and I were also present. “A devotee is very proud that we are Krsna’s servant,” Srila Prabhupada said, “A devotee has that…

Here’s an incident that happened to me about 4-5 years ago … I was in Govinda’s during the lunch rush one afternoon dressed in dhoti and tilaka. A group of three obviously gay men approached me quite abruptly (as per the West-Australian demeanour) and demanded, “Does your religion condone homosexuality?” I wasn’t much taken back…

One may have other duties to perform under the direction of the spiritual master, but he must first abide by the spiritual master’s order to chant a certain number of rounds. In our Krishna consciousness movement we have recommended that the neophyte chant at least sixteen rounds. This chanting of sixteen rounds is absolutely necessary…

In the late afternoon in New Jersey, Srila Prabhupada would often sit downstairs in the garden beside our bungalow. New Jersey is known as the garden state, and the town of Long Branch was certainly testimony to that. There were gardens everywhere, roses were blooming and their fragrance filled the air. On one particular afternoon,…

by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura Sri Krsna manifest His eternal birth the pure cognitive essence of the serving soul who is located above all mundane limitations, King Kamsa is the typical aggressive empiricist, ever on the lookout for the appearance of the truth for the purpose of suppressing Him before He has time to develop.…

bolding and emphasis added … “So if this confidential knowledge, one who preaches without any compromise, he is the confidential servant of Krsna. There is no compromise. This is real religion. The Krsna says, na ca tasmad manusyesu kascid me priya-krttamah. So this is the person who has received the authority to draw mercy water…

Oct 09, GUJURAT (PANAJI) — Internationally renowned marine archaeologist Dr S R Rao today called for preservation of underwater cultural heritage, particularly the Dwarka city, believed to have been built by Lord Krishna in Gujarat. Speaking at the 7th national conference on marine archaeology of Indian ocean countries at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO),…

I wonder what correlation exists between institutional religion and sexually predatory behaviour? Is it just that finding filth within organized religious structures makes for a sensational story or is there actually a tendency for those with socially unacceptable carnal tendencies to take shelter within institutions? If so, then what factors contribute to this? From the…